Monthly Archives: December 2022

Feathertop [Haiku]

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the Feathertop sways,
as the river beside it glides
inexorably

DAILY PHOTO: Saint George Serbian Orthodox Church, Budapest

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Rage Monster [Common Meter]

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There is an angry beast inside
who shakes at me sometimes.
It gives me mean and violent thoughts.
It draws no moral lines.

It'd kill them all in vicious ways
without heartfelt remorse.
This fever of being must be,
until it's run its course.

Then I can be civil again,
and my blood can cool.
And I can play my normal role:
-n- be done playing the fool.

I’ve Never Been Lost in the Woods [Sonnet]

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I've never been lost in the woods,
though I've been lost so many times.
I've been lost in my neighborhood,
and I've been lost within my mind. 

You say the trees look all the same.
I say that's some speciesist shit.
No. I don't know the trees by name,
but that doesn't matter a whit.

I've never been lost in the woods:
lost means wishing to be elsewhere.
Lost is all about "woulds" and "coulds."
But I'm not lost if I don't care:

don't care I don't know this exact spot,
'cause I know precisely where I'm not!

BOOK REVIEW: Batman: The Complete Hush by Jeph Loeb

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Batman: The Complete HushBatman: The Complete Hush by Jeph Loeb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Over the course of this twelve-chapter story, Batman is pitted against much of his rogues’ gallery, but they’re puppets to a shadowy unknown, a secret villain: Hush. Batman has to do his best detective work, and still faces twist after turn in uncovering this enemy that knows him all too well, who knows all his pressure points. Batman has to battle Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Joker, Scarecrow, and Clayface – and even [due to mind control] Superman and Catwoman, but nothing is as it seems. One might expect that a book this packed with enemies would face problems of pacing and poignancy, but the way the story is crafted (and the villains are effectively subordinated) it’s quite the opposite.

This was one of the smartest comics I’ve read. It’s a mystery that offers foreshadowing, but also false flags. There’s a sub-plot love story between Batman and Catwoman in which the relationship matures, but the question of whether one can ever really trust someone in that world remains ever in the background.

I thought this was one of the best comics I’ve read, and if you’re a Batman fan, it’s definitely a must-read.


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DAILY PHOTO: Lego Lion and the Tunnel

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They are refurbishing Budapest’s Chain Bridge [Széchenyi lánchíd,] which features prominent guardian lions. To keep the city from feeling unprotected, they’ve installed a Lego lion that consists of more than 850,000 pieces and weighs 2.8 tons.

The Buda Castle Tunnel is in the background.

BOOK REVIEW: A Gardener’s Guide to Botany by Scott Zona

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A Gardener's Guide to Botany: The biology behind the plants you love, how they grow, and what they needA Gardener’s Guide to Botany: The biology behind the plants you love, how they grow, and what they need by Scott Zona
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Release Date: December 6, 2022

This beginner’s guide to botany is well conceived and executed. The photographs are beautiful and well-chosen to help the reader understand the complexities discussed in the text. The text gets definitionally dense in places, but also presents fascinating ideas in plain English. I learned a lot from the book, particularly where it was less steeped in technical terminology and details and offered intriguing ideas and examples.

While the book’s eight chapters aren’t formally divvied up, I would place them into three groups. Chapters one and two are about what plants are and how they are organized to do what they do. Chapters three through five are about what plants need to survive (water, light, and nutrients, respectively) and why. The last three chapters explore the main activities plants engage in (i.e. defense, reproduction, and seed dispersal.)

I found this book to be informative and readable, and if you’re looking for a basic guide to botany that skillfully employs photographs, I’d have a look at this one.


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